A Howling in the Hills (Prev. Adjusting) (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 5 - Barbecue

Alpha John on the side.

I knew that Alex was only trying to take my mind off of meeting the rest of the pack, but there was no need to work me to the bone. He told me that we were having a barbecue tonight, so there was a lot of work to be done.

We had prepared two giant regular salads along with potato and pasta salad. I put together a big veggies-and-dip platter while Alex made fruit salad.

After that, we poured many bags of ice into two large metal bins. Once they were full of ice, we stocked one with alcoholic drinks and the other with non-alcoholic drinks.

By now, I was sweating from the hard work and from continually going outside into the hot sun. Alex and I were resting on one of many picnic tables set up outside, taking a short break to rest and drink some lemonade. Suddenly, we could hear howls alerting us that the hunting party was returning.

I began to tremble. Fear was running rampant through my system and my mind was coming up with crazy "what if" scenarios.

Alex put his arm around my shoulders and began to rub his hand up and down my left arm. "Adrian, you need to calm down," he said gently.

"But what if they don't like me?" I asked worriedly. "After all, no one likes rogues. I'll be kicked out of the pack before I even join!"

"That's not true at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, no one will hate you. The Alpha likes you, so everyone else will like you. Besides, not everyone hates rogues."

'Really?"

"Really. After all, if I hated them, would I have saved you?"

I smiled at him before replying, "I guess not."

He smiled back at me and gave me a quick hug before letting go and pulling me to my feet as he stood up.

"Come on now," he said. "Let's get ready to introduce you to the pack."

I gulped loudly before nodding at him and following him as he walked towards the forest. All of a sudden he stopped, pulling me to a stop beside him. We stood there for a moment, silence between us, until a large group of wolves came out of the forest. There were probably about twenty wolves in all. Fifteen of them were walking in front, while the other five dragged the day's kill behind them.

I heard noise coming from behind us, so I quickly turned around to face what might be sneaking up behind me. It turned out to be the rest of the pack that hadn't gone hunting.

There turned out to be around forty pack members in all. My nerves were coming back in full swing when I felt pressure surround my hand. I looked down and saw Alex's hand holding my own. He suddenly gave it a quick squeeze and I looked up to see a small, comforting smile on his face. I took a deep, calming breath and gave him a small smile in return.

I looked up to see the wolves in front of us had changed back into their human forms. They were all staring at me; some curiously, some rudely.

It seemed like hours had passed when Alex finally spoke.

"This is Adrian. He is joining our pack."

After a moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward with a frown on his face. "Are you a rogue?"

"No," Alex answered for me. "I just told you, he's a pack member now."

"Are you a rogue?" the man asked again, ignoring Alex.

My fear grew and I answered, "Yes."

The crowd broke into an outrage. Several people were yelling, and a few looked like they were going to attack me.